1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for preparing tires for repair. More specifically, this invention relates to methods and apparatus for preparing tires for application of a tire patch.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is commonly known to use tire patches to repair damaged portions of a tire. It is also known that tire patches may form any of a variety of shapes and sizes. In preparing the tire for receiving a tire patch, the corresponding surface of the tire is prepared to improve patch adhesion and arrangement. In certain instances, the surface is simply cleaned and/or roughened. In other instances, it is desirous to remove sufficient material from the tire to form a recessed area for receiving a tire patch. This area is referred to as a patch receiving area.
In removing material for forming the patch receiving area, it is often desirous to control the removal of the material to ensure that a particular depth is achieved. For example, it may be desirous to ensure that any reinforcements (i.e., fabric, cords, strand, or the like) are not damaged by the removal process. Further, it may be desirous to reach a particular depth to expose a certain layer or material, or to otherwise simply reach any other desired depth.
Presently when forming the patch receiving area according to manual methods, an operator freely utilizes an unconstrained abrading tool to remove material from the tire. In performing such operation, the operator must not only control the position of the tool in all directions along the surface, but must also monitor the continued removal of such material to achieve a desired depth. This process may become an iterative process, as the operator interrupts the removal process to determine whether the present depth has reached, or not gone beyond, the desired (i.e, target) depth. Accordingly, there is a need to better control the formation of the patch receiving area of a tire for manual operations.